People Criticizing Celtics Draftee Hugo Gonzalez Are Telling On Themselves

The Celtics kept the No. 28 pick and selected Real Madrid forward Hugo Gonzalez, and all of a sudden, everyone’s an expert.

ESPN analyst Jonathan Givony believes Boston got “one of the biggest steals,” per Celtics reporter Marc D'Amico. However, when you take a look at comments from fans on social media, they don’t believe so.

Why? Well, Gonzalez averaged 3.4 points per game at Real Madrid, you see. That’s the flawless logic you saw Wednesday night from blue checkmark bros on X and other paragons of logic and reason.

Now, who do you trust more? Givony, one of the top draft experts in the world, or a bunch of random people on social media and other radio hosts who ignore the draft?

I’ll admit. I’m not an expert on Gonzalez. However, I’ve read from others who’ve watched his film, and they’re excited about the talent he showed at the 2022 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup and 2023 FIBA U18 EuroBasket. Also, the 19-year-old only played 10 minutes a game for Real Madrid because the historic club rarely plays young players big minutes. They did allow him to develop with the U18 team, where he won the Next Generation Tournament MVP in 2024.

President of basketball operations Brad Stevens highlighted how Gonzalez played for a historic organization and the fact that he played with experienced pros.

“We’ve been watching Hugo for a long time,” Stevens told reporters, per the Celtics. “He’s obviously been on everybody’s radar, I think, for a long time. Followed his year for a great Real Madrid organization and team closely and watched him at U18s and those types of things. Just a big fan of how he plays. He’s tough. He’s hard-playing. He cuts. He goes after the ball. He competes. He’s got all the intangibles of a winning basketball player. There’s things he can get better at, just like everybody else at that age. Competitiveness, it’s at a high level.”

The critiques of the Celtics’ draft pick are likely just part of the cesspool that is social media, but they also highlight how unusual the NBA draft can be. Many of these fans are NFL-brained and take that mindset to other sports. The NFL draft is king not only because of the presentation and attitude people have for it, but also because draft picks tend to make an impact sooner than in other sports. College football also is just as dominant in the zeitgeist as the NFL, whereas men’s college basketball continues to decline outside of the NCAA tournament.

It’s only natural for fewer people to know about any of these NBA draft prospects compared to fans who might know a random fifth-round pick in the NFL draft. Adding international prospects further shrinks the pool. That’s why I lean on experts like Givony because I know he grinds tape on international prospects. After all, he famously interviewed Giannis Antetokounmpo before anyone knew who he was.

Unfortunately, social media platforms like X reward ignorance, especially for those who have a blue checkmark.

Based on what I’ve read from actual experts, I’m intrigued by Gonzalez. The Celtics could be following a trend from the Oklahoma City Thunder by taking a chance on an athletic wing with a tremendous physical profile. OKC built a championship roster partly behind that philosophy, and it’s what makes the Thompson twins intriguing players. You can’t teach physical physique and athleticism, but you can teach someone how to become a better shooter and decision-maker. That seems to be the high-upside gamble Stevens made with the Celtics’ first-round pick.

Thank you for reading until the end. At the end of every post, I recommend a K-pop song or pro wrestling match to leave you with. For this post, I’m going with “Like You Better” by fromis_9.